StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA)

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA – Get Rating) in a research note published on Thursday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on VOYA. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $78.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, February 13th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Voya Financial from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, February 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Voya Financial currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $83.17.

Voya Financial Stock Down 4.6 %

VOYA opened at $63.10 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $70.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.08. Voya Financial has a twelve month low of $56.20 and a twelve month high of $78.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.34, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.16.

Voya Financial (NYSE:VOYA – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 7th. The asset manager reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.65. Voya Financial had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 13.09%. The firm had revenue of $880.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $259.86 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Voya Financial will post 8.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Voya Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is a positive change from Voya Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Voya Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Rodney O. Martin, Jr. sold 70,774 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.59, for a total transaction of $5,208,258.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 228,208 shares in the company, valued at $16,793,826.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Rodney O. Martin, Jr. sold 70,774 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.59, for a total transaction of $5,208,258.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 228,208 shares in the company, valued at $16,793,826.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Rodney O. Martin, Jr. sold 109,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.23, for a total transaction of $8,134,717.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 220,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,396,070.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 223,650 shares of company stock worth $16,595,760. 1.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Voya Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VOYA. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Voya Financial by 48.4% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 417 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in Voya Financial by 284.0% during the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 457 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Voya Financial during the second quarter valued at $36,000. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Voya Financial during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in Voya Financial during the first quarter valued at $36,000.

About Voya Financial

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Voya Financial, Inc is a retirement, investment, and insurance company, which engages in the provision of financial services. It operates through the following segments: Retirement, Investment Management, and Employee Benefits. The Retirement segment offers tax-deferred, employer-sponsored retirement savings plans and administrative services.